BEIJING: China and Nepal today said they would take forward plans to build a trans-Himalayan railway and economic corridor. This was decided at a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries. They also invited India to join the project.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gwayali met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing for talks and discussed ambitious plans to take forward a range of infrastructure projects Including connectivity across the Himalayas.

Urging India to join the initiative, Wang Yi said, “Support for Nepal’s development should be a common understanding between India and China.”

He further said that China and Nepal had “long-term vision” on building a “trans-Himalayan connectivity network” and already agreed a memorandum of understanding on cooperating under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.